Stranger Things Have Happened
by gymnast1150
Summary: Katniss Everdeen, a high school senior with barely any friends, meets the charming Peeta Mellark, the famous actor. He's funny, easy to talk to, and seems to be flirting with Katniss, but that can't be...can it? What starts out as a fun filled night at a high school party turns into an unexpected relationship between fame and normal. But it can't be that simple...can it?


Chapter One

It was just another ordinary Saturday.

Katniss was sitting on her bed, staring at the Candy Crush game she was playing on her phone while waiting for her best friend, Johanna, to get there. They had plans to go to the Capitol Mall, which they did every weekend, which was probably why Katniss wasn't all that enthusiastic about going today. But it was Johanna's favorite thing to do, so she grudgingly agreed to go, too.

It was moments like this when Katniss wished she had more friends. Sure, there was Gale who she loved like a brother, but he had just confessed his feelings for her that she did _not_ return. So needless to say it was awkward talking to him, let alone hanging out with him.

Then there was her sister, Prim, who she loved spending time with and cared for deeply. However, Prim was starting to gain interest in medicine and becoming a doctor, so she was always busy with that. Besides, talking to Prim who already knew what she wanted to do when she grew up and was already getting a head start while Katniss still had no clue and _she_ was the high school Senior made Katniss feel inferior. Prim was always special though.

Besides those two and Johanna, Katniss had no other friends. And she hated herself for it.

After waiting for what felt like hours, Johanna finally walked through Katniss's front door, screaming out her friend's name.

"Katniss!"

"Up here!" Katniss yelled back. She was still in the middle of her Candy Crush game, so she refused to move until she had beaten it.

Johanna walked into the bedroom, stopping in the doorway and leaning against the edge. "You ready to go shopping?" she exclaimed, growing excited.

Katniss sighed and rolled out of bed. "Not really. We always go to the mall. Do you know how boring it gets when you go every single weekend? Very!" She answered without giving Johanna a chance to even guess.

"You promised, though," Johanna stated. "If you didn't wanna go, you shouldn't have promised me you would! If you had found something better to do, then I wouldn't argue."

"We can always _find_ something better to do?" Katniss suggested, knowing Johanna would argue against it.

"After we go to the Mall," Johanna offered. She wasn't going to budge on the whole mall-thing, and Katniss knew that. But she figured she should give it a shot, anyway.

"Fine." She walked toward her door and started to pass Johanna when she turned to her and said, "But then we do what I wanna do."

Although the air was cool and it bit at your ankles, it had felt pretty nice outside for an October night. Katniss and Johanna sat in their chairs in Johanna's garage, both drinking a bottle of beer she had stolen from her parents' beer fridge. Katniss had suggested that they hangout outside and wait for Johanna's neighbor to come out considering he always had plans on the weekends. She argued that if Finnick saw them outside as he was getting into his car, and they strike up a conversation with him, then maybe he might offer them to come along with him. Or at least change his plans and stay with them. Then that would start a friendship in a way and then maybe they wouldn't be spending every weekend with just each other, having nothing better to do.

"This isn't gonna work, Katniss," Johanna explained as they sat there, staring at Finnick's house and praying that he would come out soon. "He's too cool for us. He'll never actually invite us to whatever party he's heading off to."

"You never know!" Katniss snapped. "You said that you guys were friends, sort of."

"Not that good of friends!"

"Well, maybe this is our chance to-"

"Hey, Finnick!" Johanna shouted before he could hear the two girls gossiping about their fantasy encounter with the dreaming boy from across the street. "You look nice. Got a hot date or something?"

The boy with the wavy hair and the beautiful charming smile looked at the girls like he couldn't put names to the faces he's seen daily for the past eight years. Then, breaking the awkward silence that was speaking mad volumes in Katniss's ears, he chuckled and shook his head.

"No, not this time, Johanna," he said as he shut his car door and began to walk down his driveway. "No, I have some stupid birthday party to go to. Some sophomore on the football team invited everyone over, but I'm not really looking forward to it."

As he crossed the street, acting like it was normal for him to just walk up to them for no reason at all, Katniss started to feel uncomfortable. She had never actually talked to Finnick Odair, and there he was, approaching her with such grace that no guy should ever have.

"How about you? What are you lovely ladies up to?" He asked, flashing them his heart-melting smile.

"We're probably just gonna hang here," Johanna said as if they had any other offers for the night. "My parents are gone for the night so we were going to-"

"Your parents aren't home?" Finnick asked, sounding more excited than when he talked about the birthday party he was just about to leave for. "Ever thought about throwing a party?" His eyes lit up and his mouth curled into this devious smile. He wasn't excited for a party; he was excited to see if he could make two innocent girls break the rules, which Katniss was more than pleased to do.

"We hadn't," Katniss started, looking over at Johanna and seeing the same spark in her eyes as in Finnick's, "But we are now."

"Great! I have some friends that are making their way over to Marvel's party that I gotta call and tell them the change in plans, so I'll be back," Finnick said as he pulled out his phone and started to tap the screen. He paused for a moment and looked at the two girls, who were trying their hardest not to squeal in excitement, and said, "You're gonna love them."

The party was growing with every knock at the door, and Katniss could not believe her luck. Her plan had actually worked! And even better than she had imagined! She was actually standing in the middle of a real party, and she was enjoying herself more than she had in the past four years combined. Granted, she didn't know anybody that well other than their names- and they certainly didn't know hers- but she was still wrapped up in the idea that this would be the greatest night of her life.

She spotted the charming young man who made the entire night possible talking to Johanna at the bottom of the staircase, and she made her way through the crowd to meet up with them. "Hey, guys!" She exclaimed loudly over the blaring music. It wouldn't have been a bad choice of music if the bass wasn't so heavy, making the house shake with every loud beat.

"Katniss! There you are!" Finnick yelled loudly. "I've been looking for you! My special friends are here and I want you two to meet them!"

Johanna glanced at Katniss, who shared the same expression on her face; wonder. Who are Finnick's special friends? And why did he want them to meet Johanna and herself?

Finnick paraded them through the house, pushing through the crowd from one room to the next until they reached the kitchen. "Wait here," Finnick exclaimed as he walked into the living room alone.

Katniss was scanning the crowd, taking in all the faces she had seen pass her in the hallways at school but never imagined seeing them in her best friend's house for a party. Her eyes drifted from one person to the next, overlooking a couple standing in the corner of the living room. Her eyes quickly darted back to the boy with the dark hair and grey eyes, just like hers, except his were looking at a pretty girl like a lion looks at a deer. Gale was there… with Madge.

Katniss couldn't believe the anger that was building up inside of her. It was only a few days ago that he had confessed his feelings for her and now he had moved on to someone else? She felt humiliated. She had to get out of there before she started to scream at the boy she always considered the only boy who would never hurt her. Running away from Johanna, Katniss could hear Finnick introduce Johanna to someone whose presence made Johanna gasp and scream. But Katniss kept moving quickly through the house, trying to escape what she had just seen.

She settled down on the bottom stairs, looking out into the crowd that was now dancing and singing loudly and drinking from a ton of plastic red cups. She had one herself, only hers was filled with water. She had too much alcohol already, so she had been drinking water the past hour hoping it would get rid of the annoying swaying feeling she had.

She took a drink and watched everyone have the time of their life while she sat there, feeling more upset than she should've been by seeing Gale with another girl. She shot him down, claiming that he was like a brother to her, so it shouldn't be that big of a deal that he had found interest in someone else. But for some strange reason, it was.

Suddenly, there was another body sitting beside her on the stairs. Ignoring the new presence, Katniss took another drink, bitter that the best night of her life had turned so quickly.

"So, is the party better from over here?" The mysterious male voice asked. It was a sweet voice, one that she could tell was joking, but it also had a hint of flirting to it. But she quickly brushed that thought aside; no one could possibly be flirting with her.

"The party might not be, but the drinks sure are," Katniss replied, hoping the boy would leave if she was rude and showed no interest in him being there.

The boy simply laughed though, which made Katniss turn and look at this crazy boy who couldn't take a hint. She was met with the bluest of blue eyes and the prettiest blonde waves she had ever seen on a boy before. The sparkle in his eyes, the crooked smile of his lips, the squareness of his jaw, she knew this face; she adored this face. Millions of girls around the world adored this face that was staring straight at her and smiling like he was just another teenaged boy at a party. But it couldn't be… could it? Peeta Melark, the famous actor?


End file.
